Folding table.



No. 777,186. PATENTED DEC. 13. 1904.

E. C. DITTMAR. FOLDING TABLE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.11. 1904.

H0 MODEL.

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Patented December 13, 190%..

PATENT OFFICE.

DITTMAR, OF VVILLIAMSPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

FOLDING TABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. (77,186, dated December 13, 1904.

Application filed January 11, 1904. Serial No. 188,590. (No model.)

To ttZl whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLMER (J. Drr'rMAR. a citizen of the United States, residing at Villiamsport,in the county of Lycoming and State 7 of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Folding Tables, of which the following is a full, clear, and eX- act specification.

My invention relates to a new and improved folding table particularly adapted for use by caterers at banquets, parties, 620.; and the object is to produce a table which when folded will be compact, light, and easily transported, but which when set up will be strong and firm. My invention contains these desirable qualities; and it consists of the combinations and parts hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating one form of my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of the table completely set up and ready for use. Fig. 2 is aview of the table folded up and ready for moving. Fig. 3 is a view of the under side of the table with the leaves outstretched, but the legs folded within the recesses. Fig. 4 is a side view of the table ready for use. Fig. 5 is a View of the table with the legs folded up and the leaves partly folded. Fig. 6 is a detailed view showing the construction of the brace and locking device for holding the legs in the extended position. Fig. 7 is a similar View to Fig. 6, but taken on line in w of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the special three-part hinge used in connecting the middle sections of the table together.

Similar numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the drawings.

In the drawings, as will be seen, I have shown my table constructed of four sections 1, 2, 3, and 4, each of which consists of a framework 5, to which is secured in any suitable manner a veneer or top 6. By this construction the various sections can be made of suitable strength and stiffness and at the same time be light in weight and easy to handle. The several sections may be of any desirable size and shape; but the end sections must be slightly shorter in length than the middle sections in order to permit their being folded in, as will be clearly seen in Fig. 4t. These end sections are connected to the middle sections by ordinary hinges 7, and the middle sections are connected together by means of a threepart hinge or a pair of hinges 8, the said hinge being secured" at a point near but not at the contiguous edges of the middle sections. The proper place for securing these hinges can be readily found by dividing the length of the middle portion of the hinge into two parts, which distance will be the distance from the edge of a middle section at which the hinge should be secured. The purpose of this will be readily understood from a view of Fig. 4:, and it will be seen that when opened this permits the inner ends of the middle sections to meet, and thus form a perfectly smooth and unbroken surface.

It will be readily understood that while I have shown my invention embodied in a table having four sections it may be used in connection with one having more than fourfor instance, six sections and in this case the two outer sections will fold against the inner sections, thus necessitating a three-part hinge between the outer sections and the intermediate ones and a proportionately wider threepart hinge between the two middle sections to accommodate the thickness of the various sections.

To the under side of the table and within the recesses formed by the framework 5 fl. secure a suitable number of legs secured to crosspieces or by any other suitable means, and these legs are adapted to swing outward and support the table, as shown in Fig. 1, or to be swung inward and fiat within their respective recesses, as shown in Fig. 3. be of any desirable number or size. it is likewise desirable to provide a brace for maintaining the legs in their operative position, and I have shown one form consisting of a rod 9, having bent ends, one of which is pivoted in a suitable support 10 on the swinging leg, the other end of said rod being adapted to engage and slide in aslot 11, formed in the inner side of the frame 5. At one end of the slot a recess 12 is provided, into which the end of the brace falls when the leg is opened and by means of which the leg is maintained in its operative position. To close the table,

The legs may it is merely necessary to springithe end of the rod outward sufficiently to disengage it from this recess 12, when the legs may be folded up against. the bottom of the table and the various sections folded, as hereinbefore inclicated, the whole making a very compact device, such as is shown in Fig. 2.

Various modifications may be made in my invention without departing from the spirit thereof; but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A folding table composed of a plurality of sections pivotally connected, each of said-sections being recessed and provided with pivoted legs, braces therefor and means for lock- IIGSSQS. ELMER (LDITTMAR Witnesses:

OLIVER J. DECKER, JAMES B. KRAUSE. 

